removing ceiling, bit concerned about black dust and cleanup

[ajrobb]

lol@resting my limbs !! they're like jelly at the momment, wobbling all over the place

thinking of exposed joists, at least in the master bedroom and maybe the passage.. any thoughts??

Sorry, can't give you any practical pointers. First you have to talk to your Local Authority Building Control as this is a significant change. The ceiling protects the roof from fire. The joists you'd expose don't just hold up the ceiling, they tie the front and the back of the roof together and stop it collapsing.

I assume the joists are resting on wall plates on top of supporting walls so there is no wall running up between the joists that would separate the rooms/roof.

Although unlikely in your roof, some (Tanalised) timbers are treated with arsenic as a preservative. They might have been treated for woodworm. In your case, we know they've been covered in old smoke dust for 70 years. The roof is ventilated so the smell can't get too bad. Basically, I wouldn't invite old joists into my bedroom.

 

[1stProject]

sorry ajrobb, i said the wrong thing, i was thinking of starting the new ceeling half way up the existing timber so that you could see them going across the ceeling. a plasterboard cut to size in between every joist, prehaps by screwing on a smaller wooden frame on the inner side of the joists then screwing the board up to the batton, i don't know what the term for that is, just to create an old look/feature, i see what you mean about inviting 70 yr old dust ridden timber in to the room, could i treat it gain with something if i were to do the above? thanks

 

[ajrobb]

Please, go and speak with your local Building Control - it's free. If they don't approve, it's a non-starter. Alternatively, you might get a similar effect with cosmetic battens below the plasterboard maybe held up with Gripfill or Pink Grip.

 

[1stProject]

all ceiling now removed and house cleared, next task is to get rid of all the old nails, i suppose i can hammer in the ones that have heads broken off and just remove the ones i can? there are loads of old nails that i can see which have been hammered in, can i leave these alone? any tips??